Process for increasing the basis weight of sheet materials

ABSTRACT

Sheet-like products are disclosed containing an additive composition. In accordance with the present disclosure, the additive composition is applied to a creping surface. The additive composition includes at least an aqueous dispersion containing a thermoplastic polymer. A base sheet is then pressed against the creping surface for contact with the additive composition. The base sheet is then creped from the creping surface causing the additive composition to transfer to the base sheet. In particular, the additive composition is transferred to the base sheet in amounts greater than about 1% by weight, such as from about 2% to about 50% by weight. The additive composition may further include a lotion, a debonder, a softener, or mixtures thereof.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to and is a continuation-in-partapplication of U.S. Ser. No. 11/303,002 filed on Dec. 15, 2005, U.S.Ser. No. 11/304,490 filed on Dec. 15, 2005, U.S. Ser. No. 11/303,036filed on Dec. 15, 2005, U.S. Ser. No. 11/304,998 filed on Dec. 15, 2005,U.S. Ser. No. 11/304,063 filed on Dec. 15, 2005 and U.S. Ser. No.11/635,385 filed on Dec. 7, 2006.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The instant invention relates to a process for increasing the basisweight of sheet materials.

BACKGROUND

Absorbent tissue products such as paper towels, facial tissues, bathtissues and other similar products are designed to include severalimportant properties. For example, the products should have good bulk, asoft feel and should be highly absorbent. In addition, the productsshould also have sufficient strength for the particular application andenvironment in which they are to be used.

In the past, those skilled in the art have developed various processesfor enhancing and improving various properties of tissue products. Forexample, in order to increase bulk and improve softness, tissue productshave been subjected to creping processes. For example, in oneembodiment, a creping adhesive is sprayed onto a rotating drum, such asa Yankee dryer. A base web is then adhered to the outside surface as thedrum is rotating. A creping blade is then used to remove the base webfrom the surface of the drum. Creping the web from the drum compacts theweb and can break fiber to fiber bonds which both increases the bulk andsoftness of the product.

The present disclosure is directed to further improvements in webcreping processes. In particular, the present disclosure is directed toprocess that can not only be used to crepe base sheets but can also beused to incorporate useful additives into the base sheets in amountssufficient to improve the properties of the sheets.

SUMMARY

In general, the present disclosure is directed to a method for applyingan additive composition to a base sheet. In addition, as will bedescribed in greater detail below, the base sheet may also be subjectedto a creping process while the additive composition is being applied tothe base sheet. Of particular advantage, the additive composition can beapplied to the base sheet according to the present disclosure in anamount sufficient so as to increase the basis weight of the base sheetand improve various properties of the sheet.

For instance, in one embodiment, the present disclosure is directed to aprocess for producing a sheet product. The process includes the steps ofapplying an additive composition to a moving creping surface. Thecreping surface, for instance, may comprise the surface of a rotatingdrum. The drum may be at ambient temperature or may be heated.

Once the additive composition is applied to the creping surface, a basesheet is pressed against the creping surface. The additive compositionadheres the base sheet to the creping surface. The base sheet is thenremoved from the creping surface. For instance, in one embodiment, acreping blade can be used to crepe the base sheet from the crepingsurface. During removal of the base sheet from the creping surface, inaccordance with the present disclosure, the additive compositiontransfers to the base sheet such that the basis weight of the base sheetincreases by at least about 1% by weight. Thus, the additive compositionnot only adheres the base sheet to the creping surface, but alsotransfers to the base sheet in an amount sufficient to influence thebasis weight.

For example, through the process of the present disclosure, the basisweight of the base sheet may increase in an amount from about 2% toabout 50% by weight, such as from about 3% to about 40% by weight, suchas from about 3% to about 25% by weight, such as from about 3% to about15% by weight. In one embodiment, for instance, the basis weight of thebase sheet may increase in an amount from about 5% to about 10% byweight.

In accordance with the present disclosure, the additive compositionincludes a thermoplastic polymer, such as a dispersion containing athermoplastic polymer. The additive composition may further comprise anysuitable composition capable of adhering the base sheet to the crepingsurface while also being capable of transferring to the base sheet afterthe base sheet is removed from the creping surface. In otherembodiments, the additive composition may further comprise a lotion, asoftener, a debonder for cellulosic fibers, or any combination thereof.For example, in one embodiment, the additive composition may comprise athermoplastic polymer combined with a lotion, a thermoplastic polymercombined with a debonder, or a thermoplastic polymer combined with asoftener.

Any of the above described additive compositions can also be combinedwith various other ingredients. For instance, in one embodiment, theadditive composition may contain in minor amounts of aloe and/or vitaminE that are intended to transfer to the base sheet from the crepingsurface.

As described above, in one embodiment, the additive composition maycomprise a thermoplastic resin. The thermoplastic resin may becontained, for instance, in an aqueous dispersion prior to applicationto the creping surface. In one particular embodiment, the additivecomposition may comprise a non-fibrous olefin polymer. The additivecomposition, for instance, may comprise a film-forming composition andthe olefin polymer may comprise an interpolymer of ethylene and at leastone comonomer comprising an alkene, such as 1-octene. The additivecomposition may also contain a dispersing agent, such as a carboxylicacid. Examples of particular dispersing agents, for instance, includefatty acids, such as oleic acid or stearic acid.

In one particular embodiment, the additive composition may contain anethylene and octene copolymer in combination with an ethylene-acrylicacid copolymer. The ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer is not only athermoplastic resin, but may also serve as a dispersing agent. Theethylene and octene copolymer may be present in combination with theethylene-acrylic acid copolymer in a weight ratio of from about 1:10 toabout 10:1, such as from about 2:3 to about 3:2.

The olefin polymer composition may exhibit a crystallinity of less thanabout 50%, such as less than about 20%. The olefin polymer may also havea melt index of less than about 1000 g/10 min, such as less than about700 g/10 min. The olefin polymer may also have a relatively smallparticle size, such as from about 0.1 micron to about 5 microns whencontained in an aqueous dispersion.

In an alternative embodiment, the additive composition may contain anethylene-acrylic acid copolymer. The ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer maybe present in the above additive composition in combination with adispersing agent, such as a fatty acid.

Once applied to a base web, it has been discovered that the additivecomposition may form a discontinuous but interconnected film dependingupon the amount applied to the web. In other embodiments, the additivecomposition may be applied to a web such that the additive compositionforms discrete treated areas on the surface of the web.

When containing a thermoplastic resin as described above, the additivecomposition may improve various properties of the base sheet. Forinstance, the additive composition provides the base sheet with alotiony and soft feel. One test that measures one aspect of softness iscalled the Stick-Slip Test. During the Stick-Slip Test, a sled is pulledover a surface of the base sheet while the resistive force is measured.A higher stick-slip number indicates a more lotiony surface with lowerdrag forces. Base webs treated in accordance with the presentdisclosure, for instance, can have a stick-slip on one side of greaterthan about −0.01, such as from about −0.006 to about 0.7, such as fromabout 0 to about 0.7.

In addition, the additive composition when containing the thermoplasticresin may also increase the strength of the product while also enhancingsoftness.

The base sheets treated in accordance with the present disclosure can bemade entirely from cellulosic fibers, such as pulp fibers, can be madefrom other natural fibers, can be made from synthetic fibers, or can bemade from a mixture of different fibers. For instance, the base sheetscan comprise cellulosic fibers in combination with synthetic fibers. Thebase sheet may, for example, comprise less than 50 percent by weight ofcellulosic fibers based on the weight of the base sheet; for example,the base sheet may comprise 0 to 49 percent by weight of cellulosicfibers based on the weight of the sheet. In the alternative, a portionof the fibers, such as greater than 50 percent by dry weight, or from 55to 99 percent by dry weight, can be synthetic fibers such as rayon,polyolefin fibers, polyester fibers, bicomponent sheath-core fibers,multi-component binder fibers, and the like. In the alternative, thebase sheet can be made entirely from synthetic fibers such as rayon,polyolefin fibers, polyester fibers, bicomponent sheath-core fibers,multi-component binder fibers, and the like.

Base sheets that may be treated in accordance with the presentdisclosure include wet-laid base webs. The sheet products made inaccordance with the present disclosure, for instance, may comprise bathtissue, facial tissue, paper towels, industrial wipers, premoistenedwipers, and the like. The product may contain one-ply or may containmultiple plies.

In other embodiments, however, the base sheet may comprise an airlaidweb, a hydroentangled web, a coform web, a spunbond web, a meltblownweb, and the like. In still other embodiments, the base sheet maycomprise a woven material or a knitted material.

Other features and aspects of the present disclosure are discussed ingreater detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of illustrating the instant invention, there is shown inthe drawings a form that is presently preferred; it being understood,however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangementsand instrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a tissue web forming machine,illustrating the formation of a stratified base web having multiplelayers in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a process for formingwet pressed, creped base webs for use in the present disclosure;

FIGS. 3-12 and 14-19 are the results obtained in the Examples asdescribed below;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the equipment used to perform aStick-Slip Test;

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a process forforming creped tissue webs in accordance with the present disclosure;and

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of still another embodiment of a processfor applying an additive composition to one side of a base web andcreping one side of the web in accordance with the present disclosure.

Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification anddrawings is intended to represent same or analogous features or elementsof the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is to be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that thepresent discussion is a description of exemplary embodiments only, andis not intended as limiting the broader aspects of the presentdisclosure.

In general, the present disclosure is directed to the incorporation ofan additive composition into a sheet product, such as a tissue web. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure is directed to applying an additivecomposition to a creping surface. The additive composition adheres abase sheet to the creping surface for creping the base sheet from thesurface. In addition to adhering the base sheet to the creping surface,the additive composition also transfers to the base sheet in amountssufficient to increase the basis weight, such as more than 1% by weight.In this manner, sufficient amounts of the additive composition can betransferred to a sheet in order to improve one or more properties of thebase sheet. In addition, during the process, the base sheet can becreped which may also increase the softness and bulk of the base sheet.

The additive composition comprises a thermoplastic polymer, such as anaqueous dispersion containing a thermoplastic resin. Once transferred tothe base sheet, the thermoplastic resin may be configured to increasethe strength of the base sheet, to improve the feel of the base sheet,and/or to enhance various other properties of the base sheet.

The additive composition may further include various ingredients andcomponents. For example, in one embodiment, the additive composition mayfurther comprise a lotion that improves the feel of the base sheetand/or may be available for transfer to a user's skin for moisturizingthe skin and providing other benefits. In general, any suitable lotioncomposition may be used in accordance with the present disclosure aslong as the lotion is capable of adhering the base sheet to a crepingsurface.

In addition, the additive composition may contain various otheringredients. For instance, other ingredients that may be containedwithin the additive composition include a debonder, a softener, and/orvarious other beneficial agents, such as aloe or vitamin E. Forinstance, in one embodiment, the additive composition may comprise alotion and a thermoplastic polymer dispersion that contains variousother ingredients that are added to provide some type of benefit eitherto the product or to the user of the product. In still anotherembodiment, a lotion may be combined with a thermoplastic polymerdispersion to form the additive composition of the present disclosure.

The base sheet that may be processed according to the present disclosurecan vary depending upon the particular application and the desiredresult. The base sheet may comprise, for instance, a base web containingcellulosic fibers. In alternative embodiments, the base sheet maycomprise nonwoven webs containing cellulosic fibers and synthetic fiberssuch as hydroentangled webs and coform webs. In other embodiments,nonwoven webs, such as meltblown webs and spunbond webs may still beused. In still other embodiments, woven materials and knitted materialsmay also be used in the process as long as the materials are capable ofbeing adhered to a creping surface and removed.

In one particular embodiment, for instance, the process of the presentdisclosure is directed to forming wet pressed base webs. In thisembodiment, an aqueous suspension of paper making fibers is formed intoa base web which is then adhered to a creping surface while wet. Forexample, referring to FIG. 2 one embodiment of a process for forming wetpressed creped base webs is shown. In this embodiment, a headbox 60emits an aqueous suspension of fibers onto a forming fabric 62 which issupported and driven by a plurality of guide rolls 64. A vacuum box 66is disposed beneath forming fabric 62 and is adapted to remove waterfrom the fiber furnish to assist in forming a web. From forming fabric62, a formed web 68 is transferred to a second fabric 70, which may beeither a wire or a felt. Fabric 70 is supported for movement around acontinuous path by a plurality of guide rolls 72. Also included is apick up roll 74 designed to facilitate transfer of web 68 from fabric 62to fabric 70.

From fabric 70, web 68, in this embodiment, is transferred to thesurface of a rotatable heated dryer drum 76, such as a Yankee dryer.

In accordance with the present disclosure, the additive composition canbe incorporated into the base web 68 by being applied to the surface ofthe dryer drum 76 for transfer onto one side of the base web 68. In thismanner, the additive composition is used to adhere the base web 68 tothe dryer drum 76. In this embodiment, as web 68 is carried through aportion of the rotational path of the dryer surface, heat is imparted tothe web causing most of the moisture contained within the web to beevaporated. Web 68 is then removed from dryer drum 76 by a creping blade78. Creping web 78 as it is formed further reduces internal bondingwithin the web and increases softness. Applying the additive compositionto the web during creping, on the other hand, may improve otherproperties of the web.

In accordance with the present disclosure, substantial amounts of theadditive composition are transferred to the base web during the crepingprocess. For instance, the basis weight of the web may increase by morethan 1% by weight due to the amount of additive composition that istransferred. More particularly, the additive composition may betransferred to the web in an amount from about 2% to about 50% byweight, such as from about 2% to about 40% by weight, such as from about2% to about 30% by weight. In various embodiments, for instance, theadditive composition may transfer to the base web in an amount fromabout 5% to about 25% by weight, such as from an amount of about 5% toabout 15% by weight.

As described, in one embodiment, the additive composition may comprise athermoplastic polymer resin. The thermoplastic polymer resin may beapplied to the creping surface in a form of an aqueous dispersion. Oncetransferred to the base web in accordance with the present disclosure,the polymer dispersion may improve various properties of the web. Forinstance, the polymer may improve the geometric means tensile strengthand the geometric mean tensile energy absorbed of the web. Further, thestrength of the web may be improved without adversely impacting thestiffness of the web. In fact, the thermoplastic polymer may improve theperceived softness of the web.

When comprising a thermoplastic resin, the additive compositiongenerally contains an aqueous dispersion comprising at least onethermoplastic resin, water, and, optionally, at least one dispersingagent. The thermoplastic resin is present within the dispersion at arelatively small particle size. For example, the average volumetricparticle size of the polymer may be less than about 5 microns. Theactual particle size may depend upon various factors including thethermoplastic polymer that is present in the dispersion. Thus, theaverage volumetric particle size may be from about 0.05 microns to about5 microns, such as less than about 4 microns, such as less than about 3microns, such as less than about 2 microns, such as less than about 1micron. Particle sizes can be measured on a Coulter LS230light-scattering particle size analyzer or other suitable device. Whenpresent in the aqueous dispersion and when present in the base web, thethermoplastic resin is typically found in a non-fibrous form.

The particle size distribution of the polymer particles in thedispersion may be less than or equal to about 2.0, such as less than1.9, 1.7 or 1.5.

Examples of aqueous dispersions that may be incorporated into theadditive composition of the present disclosure are disclosed, forinstance, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0100754, U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0192365, PCT Publication No. WO2005/021638, and PCT Publication No. WO 2005/021622, which are allincorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, the additive composition may comprise a film formingcomposition capable of forming a film on the surface of a base web. Forinstance, when applied to a base web, the additive composition can forma discontinuous but interconnected film. In other words, the additivecomposition forms an interconnected polymer network over the surface ofthe base web. The film or polymer network, however, is discontinuous inthat various openings are contained within the film. The size of theopenings can vary depending upon the amount of additive composition thatis applied to the web and the manner in which the additive compositionis applied. Of particular advantage, the openings allow liquids to beabsorbed through the discontinuous film and into the interior of thebase web. In this regard, the wicking properties of the base web are notsubstantially affected by the presence of the additive composition.

In other embodiments, the additive composition does not form aninterconnected network but, instead, appears on the base sheet astreated discrete areas.

In this embodiment, the additive composition can remain primarily on thesurface of the base web. In this manner, not only does the discontinuousfilm allow the base web to absorb fluids that contact the surface butalso does not significantly interfere with the ability of the base webto absorb relatively large amounts of fluid. Thus, the additivecomposition does not significantly interfere with the liquid absorptionproperties of the web while increasing the strength of the web withoutsubstantially impacting adversely on the stiffness of the web.

The thickness of the additive composition when present on the surface ofa base sheet can vary depending upon the ingredients of the additivecomposition and the amount applied. In general, for instance, thethickness can vary from about 0.01 microns to about 10 microns. Athigher add-on levels, for instance, the thickness may be from about 3microns to about 8 microns. At lower add-on levels, however, thethickness may be from about 0.1 microns to about 1 micron, such as fromabout 0.3 microns to about 0.7 microns.

At relatively low add-on levels, the additive composition may alsodeposit differently on the base sheet than when at relatively highadd-on levels. For example, at relatively low add-on levels, not only dodiscrete treated areas form on the base sheet, but the additivecomposition may better follow the topography of the base sheet. Forinstance, in one embodiment, it has been discovered that the additivecomposition follows the crepe pattern of a base sheet when the basesheet is creped.

The thermoplastic resin contained within the additive composition mayvary depending upon the particular application and the desired result.In one embodiment, for instance, thermoplastic resin is an olefinpolymer. As used herein, an olefin polymer refers to a class ofunsaturated open-chain hydrocarbons having the general formulaC_(n)H_(2n). The olefin polymer may be present as a copolymer, such asan interpolymer. As used herein, a substantially olefin polymer refersto a polymer that contains less than about 1% substitution.

In one particular embodiment, for instance, the olefin polymer maycomprise an alpha-olefin interpolymer of ethylene with at least onecomonomer selected from the group consisting of a C₄-C₂₀ linear,branched or cyclic diene, or an ethylene vinyl compound, such as vinylacetate, and a compound represented by the formula H₂C═CHR wherein R isa C₁-C₂₀ linear, branched or cyclic alkyl group or a C₆-C₂₀ aryl group.Examples of comonomers include propylene, 1-butene, 3-methyl-1-butene,4-methyl-1-pentene, 3-methyl-1-pentene, 1-heptene, 1-hexene, 1-octene,1-decene, and 1-dodecene. In some embodiments, the interpolymer ofethylene has a density of less than about 0.92 g/cc.

In other embodiments, the thermoplastic resin comprises an alpha-olefininterpolymer of propylene with at least one comonomer selected from thegroup consisting of ethylene, a C₄-C₂₀ linear, branched or cyclic diene,and a compound represented by the formula H₂C═CHR wherein R is a C₁-C₂₀linear, branched or cyclic alkyl group or a C₆-C₂₀ aryl group. Examplesof comonomers include ethylene, 1-butene, 3-methyl-1-butene,4-methyl-1-pentene, 3-methyl-1-pentene, 1-heptene, 1-hexene, 1-octene,1-decene, and 1-dodecene. In some embodiments, the comonomer is presentat about 5% by weight to about 25% by weight of the interpolymer. In oneembodiment, a propylene-ethylene interpolymer is used.

Other examples of thermoplastic resins which may be used in the presentdisclosure include homopolymers and copolymers (including elastomers) ofan olefin such as ethylene, propylene, 1-butene, 3-methyl-1-butene,4-methyl-1-pentene, 3-methyl-1-pentene, 1-heptene, 1-hexene, 1-octene,1-decene, and 1-dodecene as typically represented by polyethylene,polypropylene, poly-1-butene, poly-3-methyl-1-butene,poly-3-methyl-1-pentene, poly-4-methyl-1-pentene, ethylene-propylenecopolymer, ethylene-1-butene copolymer, and propylene-1-butenecopolymer; copolymers (including elastomers) of an alpha-olefin with aconjugated or non-conjugated diene as typically represented byethylene-butadiene copolymer and ethylene-ethylidene norbornenecopolymer; and polyolefins (including elastomers) such as copolymers oftwo or more alpha-olefins with a conjugated or non-conjugated diene astypically represented by ethylene-propylene-butadiene copolymer,ethylene-propylene-dicyclopentadiene copolymer,ethylene-propylene-1,5-hexadiene copolymer, andethylene-propylene-ethylidene norbornene copolymer; ethylene-vinylcompound copolymers such as ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers withN-methylol functional comonomers, ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymers withN-methylol functional comonomers, ethylene-vinyl chloride copolymer,ethylene acrylic acid or ethylene-(meth)acrylic acid copolymers, andethylene-(meth)acrylate copolymer; styrenic copolymers (includingelastomers) such as polystyrene, ABS, acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer,methylstyrene-styrene copolymer; and styrene block copolymers (includingelastomers) such as styrene-butadiene copolymer and hydrate thereof, andstyrene-isoprene-styrene triblock copolymer; polyvinyl compounds such aspolyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, vinyl chloride-vinylidenechloride copolymer, polymethyl acrylate, and polymethyl methacrylate;polyamides such as nylon 6, nylon 6,6, and nylon 12; thermoplasticpolyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate and polybutyleneterephthalate; polycarbonate, polyphenylene oxide, and the like. Theseresins may be used either alone or in combinations of two or more.

In particular embodiments, polyolefins such as polypropylene,polyethylene, and copolymers thereof and blends thereof, as well asethylene-propylene-diene terpolymers are used. In some embodiments, theolefinic polymers include homogeneous polymers described in U.S. Pat.No. 3,645,992 by Elston; high density polyethylene (HDPE) as describedin U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,698 to Anderson; heterogeneously branched linearlow density polyethylene (LLDPE); heterogeneously branched ultra lowlinear density (ULDPE); homogeneously branched, linearethylene/alpha-olefin copolymers; homogeneously branched, substantiallylinear ethylene/alpha-olefin polymers which can be prepared, forexample, by a process disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,272,236 and5,278,272, the disclosure of which process is incorporated herein byreference; and high pressure, free radical polymerized ethylene polymersand copolymers such as low density polyethylene (LDPE). In still anotherembodiment of the present invention, the thermoplastic resin comprisesan ethylene-carboxylic acid copolymer, such as ethylene-acrylic acid(EAA) and ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymers such as for example thoseavailable under the tradenames PRIMACOR™ from The Dow Chemical Company,NUCREL™ from DuPont, and ESCOR™ from ExxonMobil, and described in U.S.Pat. Nos. 4,599,392, 4,988,781, and 5,384,373, each of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and ethylene-vinylacetate (EVA) copolymers. Polymer compositions described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 6,538,070, 6,566,446, 5,869,575, 6,448,341, 5,677,383, 6,316,549,6,111,023, or 5,844,045, each of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety, are also suitable in some embodiments. Ofcourse, blends of polymers can be used as well. In some embodiments, theblends include two different Ziegler-Natta polymers. In otherembodiments, the blends can include blends of a Ziegler-Natta and ametallocene polymer. In still other embodiments, the thermoplastic resinused herein is a blend of two different metallocene polymers.

In one particular embodiment, the thermoplastic resin comprises analpha-olefin interpolymer of ethylene with a comonomer comprising analkene, such as 1-octene. The ethylene and octene copolymer may bepresent alone in the additive composition or in combination with anotherthermoplastic resin, such as ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer. Ofparticular advantage, the ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer not only is athermoplastic resin, but also serves as a dispersing agent. For someembodiments, the additive composition should comprise a film-formingcomposition. It has been found that the ethylene-acrylic acid copolymermay assist in forming films, while the ethylene and octene copolymerlowers the stiffness. When present together, the weight ratio betweenthe ethylene and octene copolymer and the ethylene-acrylic acidcopolymer may be from about 1:10 to about 10:1, such as from about 3:2to about 2:3.

The thermoplastic resin, such as the ethylene and octene copolymer, mayhave a crystallinity of less than about 50%, such as less than about25%. The polymer may have been produced using a single site catalyst andmay have a weight average molecular weight of from about 15,000 to about5 million, such as from about 20,000 to about 1 million. The molecularweight distribution of the polymer may be from about 1.01 to about 40,such as from about 1.5 to about 20, such as from about 1.8 to about 10.

Depending upon the thermoplastic polymer, the melt index of the polymermay range from about 0.001 g/10 min to about 1,000 g/10 min, such asfrom about 0.5 g/10 min to about 800 g/10 min. For example, in oneembodiment, the melt index of the thermoplastic resin may be from about100 g/10 min to about 700 g/10 min.

The thermoplastic resin may also have a relatively low melting point.For instance, the melting point of the thermoplastic resin may be lessthan about 140° C., such as less than 130° C., such as less than 120° C.For instance, in one embodiment, the melting point may be less thanabout 90° C. The glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic resinmay also be relatively low. For instance, the glass transitiontemperature may be less than about 50° C., such as less than about 40°C.

The one or more thermoplastic resins may be contained within theadditive composition in an amount from about 1% by weight to about 96%by weight. For instance, the thermoplastic resin may be present in theaqueous dispersion in an amount from about 10% by weight to about 70% byweight, such as from about 20% to about 50% by weight.

In addition to at least one thermoplastic resin, the aqueous dispersionmay also contain a dispersing agent. A dispersing agent is an agent thataids in the formation and/or the stabilization of the dispersion. One ormore dispersing agents may be incorporated into the additivecomposition.

In general, any suitable dispersing agent can be used. In oneembodiment, for instance, the dispersing agent comprises at least onecarboxylic acid, a salt of at least one carboxylic acid, or carboxylicacid ester or salt of the carboxylic acid ester. Examples of carboxylicacids useful as a dispersant comprise fatty acids such as montanic acid,stearic acid, oleic acid, and the like. In some embodiments, thecarboxylic acid, the salt of the carboxylic acid, or at least onecarboxylic acid fragment of the carboxylic acid ester or at least onecarboxylic acid fragment of the salt of the carboxylic acid ester hasfewer than 25 carbon atoms. In other embodiments, the carboxylic acid,the salt of the carboxylic acid, or at least one carboxylic acidfragment of the carboxylic acid ester or at least one carboxylic acidfragment of the salt of the carboxylic acid ester has 12 to 25 carbonatoms. In some embodiments, carboxylic acids, salts of the carboxylicacid, at least one carboxylic acid fragment of the carboxylic acid esteror its salt has 15 to 25 carbon atoms are preferred. In otherembodiments, the number of carbon atoms is 25 to 60. Some examples ofsalts comprise a cation selected from the group consisting of an alkalimetal cation, alkaline earth metal cation, or ammonium or alkyl ammoniumcation.

In still other embodiments, the dispersing agent is selected from thegroup consisting of ethylene-carboxylic acid polymers, and their salts,such as ethylene-acrylic acid copolymers or ethylene-methacrylic acidcopolymers.

In other embodiments, the dispersing agent is selected from alkyl ethercarboxylates, petroleum sulfonates, sulfonated polyoxyethylenatedalcohol, sulfated or phosphated polyoxyethylenated alcohols, polymericethylene oxide/propylene oxide/ethylene oxide dispersing agents, primaryand secondary alcohol ethoxylates, alkyl glycosides and alkylglycerides.

When ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer is used as a dispersing agent, thecopolymer may also serve as a thermoplastic resin.

In one particular embodiment, the aqueous dispersion contains anethylene and octene copolymer, ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, and afatty acid, such as stearic acid or oleic acid. The dispersing agent,such as the carboxylic acid, may be present in the aqueous dispersion inan amount from about 0.1% to about 10% by weight.

In addition to the above components, the aqueous dispersion alsocontains water. Water may be added as deionized water, if desired. ThepH of the aqueous dispersion is generally less than about 12, such asfrom about 5 to about 11.5, such as from about 7 to about 11. Theaqueous dispersion may have a solids content of less than about 75%,such as less than about 70%. For instance, the solids content of theaqueous dispersion may range from about 5% to about 60%.

While any method may be used to produce the aqueous dispersion, in oneembodiment, the dispersion may be formed through a melt-kneadingprocess. For example, the kneader may comprise a Banbury mixer,single-screw extruder or a multi-screw extruder. The melt-kneading maybe conducted under the conditions which are typically used formelt-kneading the one or more thermoplastic resins.

In one particular embodiment, the process includes melt-kneading thecomponents that make up the dispersion. The melt-kneading machine mayinclude multiple inlets for the various components. For example, theextruder may include four inlets placed in series. Further, if desired,a vacuum vent may be added at an optional position of the extruder.

In some embodiments, the dispersion is first diluted to contain about 1to about 3% by weight water and then, subsequently, further diluted tocomprise greater than about 25% by weight water.

In an alternative embodiment, the additive composition may furthercomprise a lotion. The lotion, for instance, can be formulated to notonly adhere the base web to the creping surface but may also be designedto transfer to the surface of the web in amounts sufficient to laterprovide benefits to the user. For instance, in one embodiment, thelotion can be transferred to the base web in an amount sufficient suchthat the lotion then later transfers to a user's skin when wiped acrossthe skin by a user.

In general, any suitable lotion composition may be used that is capableof adhering the base sheet to the creping surface and thereaftertransferring to the base sheet such that the base sheet increases inbasis weight by greater than about 2% by weight. Examples of lotionsthat may be used in accordance with the present disclosure, forinstance, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,697, U.S. PatentPublication No. 2005/0058693, and/or U.S. Patent Publication No.2005/0058833, which are all incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, for instance, the lotion composition may comprise anoil, a wax, a fatty alcohol, and one or more other additionalingredients.

For instance, the amount of oil in the lotion composition can be fromabout 30 to about 90 weight percent, more specifically from about 40 toabout 70 weight percent, and still more specifically from about 45 toabout 60 weight percent. Suitable oils include, but are not limited to,the following classes of oils: petroleum or mineral oils, such asmineral oil and petrolatum; animal oils, such as mink oil and lanolinoil; plant oils, such as aloe extract, sunflower oil and avocado oil;and silicone oils, such as dimethicone and alkyl methyl silicones.

The amount of wax in the lotion composition can be from about 10 toabout 40 weight percent, more specifically from about 10 to about 30weight percent, and still more specifically from about 15 to about 25weight percent. Suitable waxes include, but are not limited to thefollowing classes: natural waxes, such as beeswax and carnauba wax;petroleum waxes, such as paraffin and ceresin wax; silicone waxes, suchas alkyl methyl siloxanes; or synthetic waxes, such as synthetic beeswaxand synthetic sperm wax.

The amount of fatty alcohol in the lotion composition, if present, canbe from about 5 to about 40 weight percent, more specifically from about10 to about 30 weight percent, and still more specifically from about 15to about 25 weight percent. Suitable fatty alcohols include alcoholshaving a carbon chain length of C.sub.14-C.sub.30, including cetylalcohol, stearyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol, and dodecyl alcohol.

In order to better enhance the benefits to consumers, additionalingredients can be used. The classes of ingredients and theircorresponding benefits include, without limitation, C₁₀ or greater fattyalcohols (lubricity, body, opacity); fatty esters (lubricity, feelmodification); vitamins (topical medicinal benefits); dimethicone (skinprotection); powders (lubricity, oil absorption, skin protection);preservatives and antioxidants (product integrity); ethoxylated fattyalcohols; (wetability, process aids); fragrance (consumer appeal);lanolin derivatives (skin moisturization), colorants, opticalbrighteners, sunscreens, alpha hydroxy acids, natural herbal extracts,and the like.

In one embodiment, the lotion composition can further contain ahumectant. Humectants are typically cosmetic ingredients used toincrease the water content of the top layers of the skin or mucousmembrane, by helping control the moisture exchange between the product,the skin, and the atmosphere. Humectants may include primarilyhydroscopic materials. Suitable humectants for inclusion in themoisturizing and lubrication compositions of the present disclosureinclude urocanic acid, N-Acetyl ethanolamine, aloe vera gel, argininePCA, chitosan PCA, copper PCA, Corn glycerides, dimethylimidazolidinone, fructose, glucamine, glucose, glucose glutamate,glucuronic acid, glutamic acid, glycereth-7, glycereth-12, glycereth-20,glycereth-26, glycerin, honey, hydrogenated honey, hydrogenated starchhydrolysates, hydrolyzed corn starch, lactamide MEA, lactic acid,lactose lysine PCA, mannitol, methyl gluceth-10, methyl gluceth-20, PCA,PEG-2 lactamide, PEG-10 propylene glycol, polyamino acids,polysaccharides, polyamino sugar condensate, potassium PCA, propyleneglycol, propylene glycol citrate, saccharide hydrolysate, saccharideisomerate, sodium aspartate, sodium lactate, sodium PCA, sorbitol,TEA-lactate, TEA-PCA, Urea, Xylitol, and the like and mixtures thereof.Preferred humectants include polyols, glycerine, ethoxylated glycerine,polyethylene glycols, hydrogenated starch hydrolysates, propyleneglycol, silicone glycol and pyrrolidone carboxylic acid.

In one embodiment, a lotion or one of the above ingredients contained ina lotion can be combined with a polymer dispersion as described above toproduce an additive composition in accordance with the presentdisclosure having desired properties.

In addition, a polymer dispersion may be combined with a lotion and/orvarious other additives or ingredients. For instance, in one embodiment,a debonder may be present within the additive composition. A debonder isa chemical species that softens or weakens a tissue sheet by preventingthe formation of hydrogen bonds.

Suitable debonding agents that may be used in the present disclosureinclude cationic debonding agents such as fatty dialkyl quaternary aminesalts, mono fatty alkyl tertiary amine salts, primary amine salts,imidazoline quaternary salts, silicone quaternary salt and unsaturatedfatty alkyl amine salts. Other suitable debonding agents are disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,665 to Kaun which is incorporated herein byreference. In particular, Kaun discloses the use of cationic siliconecompositions as debonding agents.

In one embodiment, the debonding agent used in the process of thepresent disclosure is an organic quaternary ammonium chloride and,particularly, a silicone-based amine salt of a quaternary ammoniumchloride.

In one embodiment, the debonding agent can be PROSOFT® TQ1003, marketedby the Hercules Corporation. For example, one debonding agent that canbe used is 1-Ethyl-2Noroleyl-3-Oleyl Amidoethyl ImidazoliniumEthosulfate, having the following formula.

In another embodiment, the additive composition may further comprise asoftener, such as a polysiloxane softener. Silicones, such aspolysiloxanes, however, may interfere with the ability of the additivecomposition to adhere a base sheet to a creping surface. Thus, whenpresent, the polysiloxane can be added to the additive composition in anamount of less than about 5% by weight.

Still in another embodiment, various beneficial agents can beincorporated into the additive composition in any amount as desired. Forinstance, in one embodiment, aloe, vitamin E, or mixtures thereof can becombined into the additive composition in amounts less than about 5% byweight, such as from about 0.1% to about 3% by weight. Such ingredientscan be combined into a lotion, into a polymer dispersion as describedabove, or into a mixture of both.

Once formulated, the additive composition can be applied to the crepingsurface, such as the surface of the Yankee dryer 76 as shown in FIG. 2using any suitable method or technique. For instance, the additivecomposition can be sprayed onto the creping surface, extruded onto thecreping surface, or printed onto the creping surface. When printed ontothe creping surface using, for instance, a flexographic printer, theadditive composition can be applied in a pattern. In other embodiments,a flooded nip may be used to apply the additive composition to thecreping surface. In still other embodiments, the additive compositioncan be applied as a foam or can be applied according to a plasma coatingprocess.

In one embodiment, the additive composition can be preheated prior tobeing applied to the creping surface. For example, in some embodiments,heating the additive composition may decrease the viscosity. Inparticular, in some embodiments, the additive composition may have amelting point of, for instance, from about 30° C. to about 70° C. Ifdesired, the additive composition can be heated above the melting pointand then applied to the creping surface.

As shown in FIG. 2 the creping surface comprises the surface of a Yankeedryer. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 the creping surface isheated in order to dry the base web as it is creped. For example, thecreping surface can be heated to a temperature of from about 30° C. toabout 150° C., such as from about 100° C. to about 130° C.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 the base web is pressed againstthe creping surface while wet. For instance, the base web, in oneembodiment, may have a consistency of from about 10% to about 30%solids, such as from about 10% to about 15% solids. In an alternativeembodiment, however, the base web may be partially dried prior to beingpressed against the creping surface. In this embodiment, for instance,the base web may have a consistency from about 30% to about 70% solids.

The amount of time that the base sheet stays in contact with the crepingsurface can depend upon numerous factors. For instance, the base sheetcan stay in contact with the creping surface in an amount of time fromas little as about 100 milliseconds to 10 seconds or even greater. Aparticular advantage, however, the additive composition is capable ofboth adhering to the base sheet and transferring to the base sheet in avery short amount of time. For instance, in one embodiment, the basesheet stays in contact with the creping surface in an amount of timefrom about 120 milliseconds to about 5 seconds, such as from about 120milliseconds to about 2,000 milliseconds. In this embodiment, the basesheet can be moving at a speed of greater than about 1,000 feet perminute, such as from about 1,500 feet per minute to about 3,000 feet perminute.

Referring to FIG. 20 another alternative embodiment of a process forforming creped base webs is shown. Like reference numerals have beenused to indicate similar elements with respect to the processillustrated in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 20, the formed web 68 is transferred to the surface ofthe rotatable heated dryer drum 76, which may be a Yankee dryer. Thepress roll 72 may, in one embodiment, comprise a suction breast roll. Inorder to adhere the web 68 to the surface of the dryer drum 76, acreping adhesive may be applied to the surface of the dryer drum by aspraying device 69. The spraying device 69 may emit an additivecomposition made in accordance with the present disclosure or may emit aconventional creping adhesive.

As shown in FIG. 20, the web is adhered to the surface of the dryer drum76 and then creped from the drum using the creping blade 78. If desired,the dryer drum 76 may be associated with a hood 71. The hood 71 may beused to force air against or through the web 68.

Once creped from the dryer drum 76, the web 68 is then adhered to asecond dryer drum 73. The second dryer drum 73 may comprise, forinstance, a heated drum surrounded by a hood 77. The drum may be heatedto a temperature of from about 25° C. to about 200° C., such as fromabout 10° C. to about 150° C.

In order to adhere the web 68 to the second dryer drum 73, a secondspray device 75 may emit an adhesive onto the surface of the dryer drum.In accordance with the present disclosure, for instance, the secondspray device 75 may emit an additive composition as described above. Theadditive composition not only assists in adhering the base web 68 to thedryer drum 73, but also is transferred to the surface of the web as theweb is creped from the dryer drum 73 by the creping blade 79.

Once creped from the second dryer drum 73, the web 68 may, optionally,be fed around a cooling reel drum 81 and cooled prior to being wound ona reel 83.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 and in FIG. 20, the creping process isdirectly incorporated into the process for forming the web. Theseembodiments may be considered “in-line” processes. In an alternativeembodiment, however, the base sheet may be formed and then subjected tothe creping process.

For instance, referring to FIG. 21, still another embodiment of aprocess for applying the additive composition to one side of a basesheet in accordance with the present disclosure is illustrated. Asshown, in this embodiment, a formed base sheet 80 is unwound from a roll85 and fed into the process. This process may be considered an off-lineprocess, although the application method may also be installed in-line.

As illustrated in FIG. 21, the base sheet 80 is pressed against a dryerdrum 108 by a press roll 110. A spray device 109 applies the additivecomposition of the present disclosure to the surface of the dryer drum.The additive composition thus not only adheres the base sheet 80 to thesurface of the dryer drum 108, but also transfers to the base sheet asthe sheet is creped from the drum using a creping blade 112. Once crepedfrom the dryer drum 108, the base sheet 80 is wound into a roll 116.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 21, a preformed base sheet iscreped from the rotating cylinder 108 when processing base webs, forinstance, the base web is generally dry when adhered to the crepingsurface. For instance, the base web can have a consistency of greaterthan about 95%.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 21, the creping surface may be atambient temperature or may be heated. It should be understood, however,that it may not be necessary to heat the creping surface in theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 21 depending upon the additivecomposition that is used. In one embodiment, for instance, the additivecomposition itself may be preheated prior to being applied to thecreping surface.

The amount of surface area that the additive composition covers on thebase sheet when applied to the base sheet can vary. In general, forinstance, the additive composition covers greater than about 40% of thesurface are of one side of the base sheet. For instance, the additivecomposition may cover from about 40% to 100% of the surface are of thebase sheet, such as from about 40% to about 90%, such as from about 40%to about 75%.

In the embodiments illustrated in the figures, only one side of the basesheet is treated with the additive composition. It should be understood,however, that both sides of the base sheet may be treated in accordancewith the present disclosure. For instance, once one side of the basesheet is creped from a creping surface, the opposite side can besimilarly adhered to a creping surface by the additive composition.

Numerous different types of base sheets may be processed according tothe present disclosure. For instance, as particularly shown in FIGS. 2and 20, in one embodiment, the base sheet comprises a base webcontaining cellulosic fibers.

Tissue products made according to the present disclosure may includesingle-ply tissue products or multiple-ply tissue products. Forinstance, in one embodiment, the product may include two plies or threeplies.

In general, any suitable base web may be treated in accordance with thepresent disclosure. For example, in one embodiment, the sheet productcan be a wiping product, such as a bath tissue, a facial tissue, a papertowel, an industrial wiper, and the like. The wiping product may haveany bulk; for example, the wiping product may have a bulk of less than 3cc/g; or in the alternative, the wiping product may have a bulk in therange of equal or greater than 3 cc/g; such as 3 cc/g to 20 cc/g, suchas from about 5 cc/g to 15 cc/g. The wiping products can contain one ormore plies and can be made from any suitable types of fiber.

Fibers suitable for making base webs comprise any natural or syntheticcellulosic fibers including, but not limited to nonwoody fibers, such ascotton, abaca, kenaf, sabai grass, flax, esparto grass, straw, jutehemp, bagasse, milkweed floss fibers, and pineapple leaf fibers; andwoody or pulp fibers such as those obtained from deciduous andconiferous trees, including softwood fibers, such as northern andsouthern softwood kraft fibers; hardwood fibers, such as eucalyptus,maple, birch, and aspen. Pulp fibers can be prepared in high-yield orlow-yield forms and can be pulped in any known method, including kraft,sulfite, high-yield pulping methods and other known pulping methods.Fibers prepared from organosolv pulping methods can also be used,including the fibers and methods disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,898,issued Dec. 27, 1988 to Laamanen et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,130, issuedJun. 10, 1986 to Chang et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,585,104. Usefulfibers can also be produced by anthraquinone pulping, exemplified byU.S. Pat. No. 5,595,628 issued Jan. 21, 1997, to Gordon et al.

The base sheet may, for example, comprise less than 50 percent by weightof cellulosic fibers based on the weight of the base sheet; for example,the base sheet may comprise 0 to 49 percent by weight of cellulosicfibers based on the weight of the sheet. In the alternative, a portionof the fibers, such as greater than 50 percent by dry weight, or from 55to 99 percent by dry weight, can be synthetic fibers such as rayon,polyolefin fibers, polyester fibers, bicomponent sheath-core fibers,multi-component binder fibers, and the like. In the alternative, thebase sheet may entirely comprise of a non-cellulosic material. Forexample, the base sheet can be made entirely from synthetic fibers suchas rayon, polyolefin fibers, polyester fibers, bicomponent sheath-corefibers, multi-component binder fibers, and the like. An exemplarypolyethylene fiber is Fybrel®, available from Minifibers, Inc. (JacksonCity, Tenn.). Any known bleaching method can be used. Syntheticcellulose fiber types include rayon in all its varieties and otherfibers derived from viscose or chemically-modified cellulose. Chemicallytreated natural cellulosic fibers can be used such as mercerized pulps,chemically stiffened or crosslinked fibers, or sulfonated fibers. Forgood mechanical properties in using papermaking fibers, it can bedesirable that the fibers be relatively undamaged and largely unrefinedor only lightly refined. While recycled fibers can be used, virginfibers are generally useful for their mechanical properties and lack ofcontaminants. Mercerized fibers, regenerated cellulosic fibers,cellulose produced by microbes, rayon, and other cellulosic material orcellulosic derivatives can be used. Suitable papermaking fibers can alsoinclude recycled fibers, virgin fibers, or mixes thereof. In certainembodiments capable of high bulk and good compressive properties, thefibers can have a Canadian Standard Freeness of at least 200, morespecifically at least 300, more specifically still at least 400, andmost specifically at least 500.

Other papermaking fibers that can be used in the present disclosureinclude paper broke or recycled fibers and high yield fibers. High yieldpulp fibers are those papermaking fibers produced by pulping processesproviding a yield of about 65% or greater, more specifically about 75%or greater, and still more specifically about 75% to about 95%. Yield isthe resulting amount of processed fibers expressed as a percentage ofthe initial wood mass. Such pulping processes include bleachedchemithermomechanical pulp (BCTMP), chemithermomechanical pulp (CTMP),pressure/pressure thermomechanical pulp (PTMP), thermomechanical pulp(TMP), thermomechanical chemical pulp (TMCP), high yield sulfite pulps,and high yield Kraft pulps, all of which leave the resulting fibers withhigh levels of lignin. High yield fibers are well known for theirstiffness in both dry and wet states relative to typical chemicallypulped fibers.

In general, any process capable of forming a base sheet can also beutilized in the present disclosure especially for webs processedaccording to FIG. 21. For example, a papermaking process of the presentdisclosure can utilize creping, wet creping, double creping, embossing,wet pressing, air pressing, through-air drying, creped through-airdrying, uncreped through-air drying, hydroentangling, air laying, coformmethods, as well as other steps known in the art.

Also suitable for products of the present disclosure are tissue sheetsthat are pattern densified or imprinted, such as the tissue sheetsdisclosed in any of the following U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,345 issued on Apr.30, 1985, to Johnson et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,239 issued on Jul. 9,1985, to Trokhan; U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,522 issued on Mar. 24, 1992; U.S.Pat. No. 5,260,171 issued on Nov. 9, 1993, to Smurkoski et al.; U.S.Pat. No. 5,275,700 issued on Jan. 4, 1994, to Trokhan; U.S. Pat. No.5,328,565 issued on Jul. 12, 1994, to Rasch et al.; U.S. Pat. No.5,334,289 issued on Aug. 2, 1994, to Trokhan et al.; U.S. Pat. No.5,431,786 issued on Jul. 11, 1995, to Rasch et al.; U.S. Pat. No.5,496,624 issued on Mar. 5, 1996, to Steltjes, Jr. et al.; U.S. Pat. No.5,500,277 issued on Mar. 19, 1996, to Trokhan et al.; U.S. Pat. No.5,514,523 issued on May 7, 1996, to Trokhan et al.; U.S. Pat. No.5,554,467 issued on Sep. 10, 1996, to Trokhan et al.; U.S. Pat. No.5,566,724 issued on Oct. 22, 1996, to Trokhan et al.; U.S. Pat. No.5,624,790 issued on Apr. 29, 1997, to Trokhan et al.; and, U.S. Pat. No.5,628,876 issued on May 13, 1997, to Ayers et al., the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference to the extent that they arenon-contradictory herewith. Such imprinted base sheets may have anetwork of densified regions that have been imprinted against a drumdryer by an imprinting fabric, and regions that are relatively lessdensified (e.g., “domes” in the tissue sheet) corresponding todeflection conduits in the imprinting fabric, wherein the base sheetsuperposed over the deflection conduits was deflected by an air pressuredifferential across the deflection conduit to form a lower-densitypillow-like region or dome in the base sheet.

If desired, various chemicals and ingredients may be incorporated intobase webs that are processed according to the present disclosure. Thefollowing materials are included as examples of additional chemicalsthat may be applied to the web. The chemicals are included as examplesand are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Such chemicalsmay be added at any point in the papermaking process.

In general, the products of the present invention can be used inconjunction with any known materials and chemicals that are notantagonistic to its intended use. Examples of such materials include butare not limited to odor control agents, such as odor absorbents,activated carbon fibers and particles, baby powder, baking soda,chelating agents, zeolites, perfumes or other odor-masking agents,cyclodextrin compounds, oxidizers, and the like. Superabsorbentparticles, synthetic fibers, or films may also be employed. Additionaloptions include cationic dyes, optical brighteners, emollients, and thelike.

The different chemicals and ingredients that may be incorporated intothe base sheet may depend upon the end use of the product. For instance,various wet strength agents may be incorporated into the product. Forbath tissue products, for example, temporary wet strength agents may beused. As used herein, wet strength agents are materials used toimmobilize the bonds between fibers in the wet state. Typically, themeans by which fibers are held together in paper and tissue productsinvolve hydrogen bonds and sometimes combinations of hydrogen bonds andcovalent and/or ionic bonds. In some applications, it may be useful toprovide a material that will allow bonding to the fibers in such a wayas to immobilize the fiber-to-fiber bond points and make them resistantto disruption in the wet state. The wet state typically means when theproduct is largely saturated with water or other aqueous solutions.

Any material that when added to a paper or tissue web results inproviding the sheet with a mean wet geometric tensile strength:drygeometric tensile strength ratio in excess of 0.1 may be termed a wetstrength agent.

Temporary wet strength agents, which are typically incorporated intobath tissues, are defined as those resins which, when incorporated intopaper or tissue products, will provide a product which retains less than50% of its original wet strength after exposure to water for a period ofat least 5 minutes. Temporary wet strength agents are well known in theart. Examples of temporary wet strength agents include polymericaldehyde-functional compounds such as glyoxylated polyacrylamide, suchas a cationic glyoxylated polyacrylamide.

Such compounds include PAREZ 631 NC wet strength resin available fromCytec Industries of West Patterson, N.J., chloroxylated polyacrylamides,and HERCOBOND 1366, manufactured by Hercules, Inc. of Wilmington, Del.Another example of a glyoxylated polyacrylamide is PAREZ 745, which is aglyoxylated poly(acrylamide-co-diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride).

For facial tissues and other tissue products, on the other hand,permanent wet strength agents may be incorporated into the base sheet.Permanent wet strength agents are also well known in the art and providea product that will retain more than 50% of its original wet strengthafter exposure to water for a period of at least 5 minutes.

Once formed, the products may be packaged in different ways. Forinstance, in one embodiment, the sheet product may be cut intoindividual sheets and stacked prior to being placed into a package.Alternatively, the sheet product may be spirally wound. When spirallywound together, each individual sheet may be separated from an adjacentsheet by a line of weakness, such as a perforation line. Bath tissuesand paper towels, for instance, are typically supplied to a consumer ina spirally wound configuration.

Base webs that may be treated in accordance with the present disclosuremay include a single homogenous layer of fibers or may include astratified or layered construction. For instance, the base web ply mayinclude two or three layers of fibers. Each layer may have a differentfiber composition. For example, referring to FIG. 1, one embodiment of adevice for forming a multi-layered stratified pulp furnish isillustrated. As shown, a three-layered headbox 10 generally includes anupper head box wall 12 and a lower head box wall 14. Headbox 10 furtherincludes a first divider 16 and a second divider 18, which separatethree fiber stock layers.

Each of the fiber layers comprise a dilute aqueous suspension ofpapermaking fibers. The particular fibers contained in each layergenerally depends upon the product being formed and the desired results.For instance, the fiber composition of each layer may vary dependingupon whether a bath tissue product, facial tissue product or paper towelis being produced. In one embodiment, for instance, middle layer 20contains southern softwood kraft fibers either alone or in combinationwith other fibers such as high yield fibers. Outer layers 22 and 24, onthe other hand, contain softwood fibers, such as northern softwoodkraft.

In an alternative embodiment, the middle layer may contain softwoodfibers for strength, while the outer layers may comprise hardwoodfibers, such as eucalyptus fibers, for a perceived softness.

An endless traveling forming fabric 26, suitably supported and driven byrolls 28 and 30, receives the layered papermaking stock issuing fromheadbox 10. Once retained on fabric 26, the layered fiber suspensionpasses water through the fabric as shown by the arrows 32. Water removalis achieved by combinations of gravity, centrifugal force and vacuumsuction depending on the forming configuration.

Forming multi-layered paper webs is also described and disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 5,129,988 to Farrington, Jr., which is incorporated herein byreference.

The basis weight of base webs made in accordance with the presentdisclosure can vary depending upon the final product. For example, theprocess may be used to produce bath tissues, facial tissues, papertowels, industrial wipers, and the like. In general, the basis weight ofthe tissue products may vary from about 10 gsm to about 110 gsm, such asfrom about 20 gsm to about 90 gsm. For bath tissue and facial tissues,for instance, the basis weight may range from about 10 gsm to about 40gsm. For paper towels, on the other hand, the basis weight may rangefrom about 25 gsm to about 80 gsm.

The sheet product may have any bulk; for example, the sheet product mayhave a bulk of less than 3 cc/g; or in the alternative, the sheetproduct may have a bulk in the range of equal or greater than 3 cc/g;such as 3 cc/g to 20 cc/g, such as from about 5 cc/g to 15 cc/g. Thesheet “bulk” is calculated as the quotient of the caliper of a drytissue sheet, expressed in microns, divided by the dry basis weight,expressed in grams per square meter. The resulting sheet bulk isexpressed in cubic centimeters per gram. More specifically, the caliperis measured as the total thickness of a stack of ten representativesheets and dividing the total thickness of the stack by ten, where eachsheet within the stack is placed with the same side up. Caliper ismeasured in accordance with TAPPI test method T411 om-89 “Thickness(caliper) of Paper, Paperboard, and Combined Board” with Note 3 forstacked sheets. The micrometer used for carrying out T411 om-89 is anEmveco 200-A Tissue Caliper Tester available from Emveco, Inc., Newberg,Oreg. The micrometer has a load of 2.00 kilo-Pascals (132 grams persquare inch), a pressure foot area of 2500 square millimeters, apressure foot diameter of 56.42 millimeters, a dwell time of 3 secondsand a lowering rate of 0.8 millimeters per second.

In multiple ply products, the basis weight of each base web present inthe product can also vary. In general, the total basis weight of amultiple ply product will generally be the same as indicated above, suchas from about 20 gsm to about 110 gsm. Thus, the basis weight of eachply can be from about 10 gsm to about 60 gsm, such as from about 20 gsmto about 40 gsm.

In one embodiment, base webs made according to the present disclosurecan be incorporated into multiple-ply products. For instance, in oneembodiment, a base web made according to the present disclosure can beattached to one or more other base webs for forming a wiping producthaving desired characteristics. The other webs laminated to the base webof the present disclosure can be, for instance, a wet-creped web, acalendered web, an embossed web, a through-air dried web, a crepedthrough-air dried web, an uncreped through-air dried web, ahydroentangled web, a coform web, an airlaid web, and the like.

In one embodiment, when incorporating a base web made according to thepresent disclosure into a multiple-ply product, it may be desirable toonly apply the additive composition to one side of the base web and tocrepe the treated side of the web. The creped side of the web is thenused to form an exterior surface of a multiple ply product. Theuntreated and uncreped side of the web, on the other hand, is attachedby any suitable means to one or more plies.

In addition to wet lay processes as shown in FIG. 2, it should beunderstood that various other base sheets may be treated in accordancewith the present disclosure. For instance, other base sheets that may betreated in accordance with the present disclosure include airlaid webs,coform webs, hydroentangled webs, meltblown webs, spunbond webs, wovenmaterials, knitted materials, and the like. For instance, any of theabove materials can be treated according to the process illustrated inFIG. 21.

Airlaid webs are formed in an air forming process in which a fibrousnonwoven layer is created. In the airlaying process, bundles of smallfibers having typical lengths ranging from about 3 to about 52millimeters (mm) are separated and entrained in an air supply and thendeposited onto a forming screen, usually with the assistance of a vacuumsupply. The randomly deposited fibers then are bonded to one anotherusing, for example, hot air or a spray adhesive. The production ofairlaid nonwoven composites is well defined in the literature anddocumented in the art. Examples include the DanWeb process as describedin U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,810 to Laursen et al. and assigned to Scan Web ofNorth America Inc, the Kroyer process as described in U.S. Pat. No.4,494,278 to Kroyer et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,171 to Soerensenassigned to Niro Separation a/s, the method of U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,448to Appel et al assigned to Kimberly-Clark Corporation, or other similarmethods.

Other materials containing cellulosic fibers include coform webs andhydroentangled webs. In the coform process, at least one meltblowndiehead is arranged near a chute through which other materials are addedto a meltblown web while it is forming. Such other materials may benatural fibers, superabsorbent particles, natural polymer fibers (forexample, rayon) and/or synthetic polymer fibers (for example,polypropylene or polyester), for example, where the fibers may be ofstaple length.

Coform processes are shown in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,464to Lau and U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,324 to Anderson et al., which areincorporated herein by reference. Webs produced by the coform processare generally referred to as coform materials. More particularly, oneprocess for producing coform nonwoven webs involves extruding a moltenpolymeric material through a die head into fine streams and attenuatingthe streams by converging flows of high velocity, heated gas (usuallyair) supplied from nozzles to break the polymer streams intodiscontinuous microfibers of small diameter. The die head, for instance,can include at least one straight row of extrusion apertures. Ingeneral, the microfibers may have an average fiber diameter of up toabout 10 microns. The average diameter of the microfibers can begenerally greater than about 1 micron, such as from about 2 microns toabout 5 microns. While the microfibers are predominantly discontinuous,they generally have a length exceeding that normally associated withstaple fibers.

In order to combine the molten polymer fibers with another material,such as pulp fibers, a primary gas stream is merged with a secondary gasstream containing the individualized wood pulp fibers. Thus, the pulpfibers become integrated with the polymer fibers in a single step. Thewood pulp fibers can have a length of from about 0.5 millimeters toabout 10 millimeters. The integrated air stream is then directed onto aforming surface to air form the nonwoven fabric. The nonwoven fabric, ifdesired, may be passed into the nip of a pair of vacuum rolls in orderto further integrate the two different materials.

Natural fibers that may be combined with the meltblown fibers includewool, cotton, flax, hemp and wood pulp. Wood pulps include standardsoftwood fluffing grade such as CR-1654 (US Alliance Pulp Mills, Coosa,Ala.). Pulp may be modified in order to enhance the inherentcharacteristics of the fibers and their processability. Curl may beimparted to the fibers by methods including chemical treatment ormechanical twisting. Curl is typically imparted before crosslinking orstiffening. Pulps may be stiffened by the use of crosslinking agentssuch as formaldehyde or its derivatives, glutaraldehyde,epichlorohydrin, methylolated compounds such as urea or ureaderivatives, dialdehydes such as maleic anhydride, non-methylolated ureaderivatives, citric acid or other polycarboxylic acids. Pulp may also bestiffened by the use of heat or caustic treatments such asmercerization. Examples of these types of fibers include NHB416 which isa chemically crosslinked southern softwood pulp fibers which enhanceswet modulus, available from the Weyerhaeuser Corporation of Tacoma,Wash. Other useful pulps are debonded pulp (NF405) and non-debonded pulp(NB416) also from Weyerhaeuser. HPZ3 from Buckeye Technologies, Inc ofMemphis, Tenn., has a chemical treatment that sets in a curl and twist,in addition to imparting added dry and wet stiffness and resilience tothe fiber. Another suitable pulp is Buckeye HP2 pulp and still anotheris IP Supersoft from International Paper Corporation. Suitable rayonfibers are 1.5 denier Merge 18453 fibers from Acordis Cellulose FibersIncorporated of Axis, Ala.

When containing cellulosic materials such as pulp fibers, a coformmaterial may contain the cellulosic material in an amount from about 10%by weight to about 80% by weight, such as from about 10% by weight toabout 49% by weight. For example, in one embodiment, a coform materialmay be produced containing pulp fibers in an amount from about 10% byweight to about 45% by weight.

In addition to coform webs, hydroentangled webs can also containsynthetic and pulp fibers. Hydroentangled webs refer to webs that havebeen subjected to columnar jets of a fluid that cause the fibers in theweb to entangle. Hydroentangling a web typically increases the strengthof the web. In one embodiment, pulp fibers can be hydroentangled into acontinuous filament material, such as a spunbond web. The hydroentangledresulting nonwoven composite may contain pulp fibers in an amount fromabout 10% to about 80% by weight, such as in an amount in the range of10% by weight to about 45% by weight. Commercially availablehydroentangled composite webs as described above are commerciallyavailable from the Kimberly-Clark Corporation under the name HYDROKNIT.Hydraulic entangling is described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No.5,389,202 to Everhart, which is incorporated herein by reference.

In addition to base sheets containing cellulosic fibers, the presentdisclosure is also directed to applying additive compositions to basesheets made entirely from synthetic fibers. For instance, in oneembodiment, the base sheet may comprise a nonwoven meltblown web.

Meltblown fibers are formed by extruding a molten thermoplastic materialthrough a plurality of fine, usually circular, die capillaries as moltenfibers into converging high velocity gas (e.g. air) streams thatattenuate the fibers of molten thermoplastic material to reduce theirdiameter, which may be to microfiber diameter. Thereafter, the meltblownfibers are carried by the high velocity gas stream and are deposited ona collecting surface to form a web of randomly disbursed meltblownfibers. Such a process is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No.3,849,241 to Butin, et al. Generally speaking, meltblown fibers may bemicrofibers that may be continuous or discontinuous, are generallysmaller than 10 microns in diameter, and are generally tacky whendeposited onto a collecting surface.

In still another embodiment, the base sheet may comprise a nonwovenspunbond web. Spunbonded fibers are small diameter substantiallycontinuous fibers that are formed by extruding a molten thermoplasticmaterial from a plurality of fine, usually circular, capillaries of aspinnerette with the diameter of the extruded fibers then being rapidlyreduced as by, for example, eductive drawing and/or other well-knownspunbonding mechanisms. The production of spun-bonded nonwoven webs isdescribed and illustrated, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,563 toAppel, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,692,618 to Dorschner, et al., U.S. Pat.No. 3,802,817 to Matsuki et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,338,992 to Kinney, U.S.Pat. No. 3,341,394 to Kinney, U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,763 to Hartman, U.S.Pat. No. 3,502,538 to Levy, U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,615 to Dobo, et al., andU.S. Pat. No. 5,382,400 to Pike, et al. Spunbond fibers are generallynot tacky when they are deposited onto a collecting surface. Spunbondfibers can sometimes have diameters less than about 40 microns, and areoften between about 5 to about 20 microns.

In still another embodiment, the base sheet might comprise a laminate.For instance, the base sheet may comprise a spunbond/meltblown/spunbondlaminate.

In addition to nonwoven materials, the base sheet may also comprise awoven fabric or a knitted fabric. In general, any suitable base sheetmay be treated in accordance with the present disclosure that is capableof adhering to a creping surface and being removed from the crepingsurface.

The present disclosure may be better understood with reference to thefollowing examples.

EXAMPLE 1

In this example, tissue webs were made generally according to theprocess illustrated in FIG. 2 and formed into two-ply products. In orderto adhere the base web to a creping surface, which in this embodimentcomprised a Yankee dryer, additive compositions made according to thepresent disclosure were sprayed onto the dryer prior to contacting thedryer with the web. The samples were then subjected to variousstandardized tests.

For purposes of comparison, samples were also produced using a standardPVOH/KYMENE crepe package.

The following process was used to produce the samples.

Initially, 80 pounds of air-dried softwood kraft (NSWK) pulp was placedinto a pulper and disintegrated for 15 minutes at 4% consistency at 120degrees F. Then, the NSWK pulp was refined for 15 minutes, transferredto a dump chest and subsequently diluted to approximately 3%consistency. (Note: Refining fibrillates fibers to increase theirbonding potential.) Then, the NSWK pulp was diluted to about 2%consistency and pumped to a machine chest, such that the machine chestcontained 20 air-dried pounds of NSWK at about 0.2-0.3% consistency. Theabove softwood fibers were utilized as the inner strength layer in a3-layer tissue structure.

Two kilograms KYMENE® 6500, available from Hercules, Incorporated,located in Wilmington, Del., U.S.A., per metric ton of wood fiber andtwo kilograms per metric ton of wood fiber PAREZ® 631 NC, available fromLANXESS Corporation, located in Trenton, N.J., U.S.A., was added andallowed to mix with the pulp fibers for at least 10 minutes beforepumping the pulp slurry through the headbox.

Forty pounds of air-dried Aracruz ECF, a eucalyptus hardwood Kraft(EHWK) pulp available from Aracruz, located in Rio de Janeiro, R J,Brazil, was placed into a pulper and disintegrated for 30 minutes atabout 4% consistency at 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The EHWK pulp was thentransferred to a dump chest and subsequently diluted to about 2%consistency.

Next, the EHWK pulp slurry was diluted, divided into two equal amounts,and pumped at about 1% consistency into two separate machine chests,such that each machine chest contained 20 pounds of air-dried EHWK. Thispulp slurry was subsequently diluted to about 0.1% consistency. The twoEHWK pulp fibers represent the two outer layers of the 3-layered tissuestructure.

Two kilograms KYMENE® 6500 per metric ton of wood fiber was added andallowed to mix with the hardwood pulp fibers for at least 10 minutesbefore pumping the pulp slurry through the headbox.

The pulp fibers from all three machine chests were pumped to the headboxat a consistency of about 0.1%. Pulp fibers from each machine chest weresent through separate manifolds in the headbox to create a 3-layeredtissue structure. The fibers were deposited on a forming fabric. Waterwas subsequently removed by vacuum.

The wet sheet, about 10-20% consistency, was transferred to a press feltor press fabric where it was further dewatered. The sheet was thentransferred to a Yankee dryer through a nip via a pressure roll. Theconsistency of the wet sheet after the pressure roll nip (post-pressureroll consistency or PPRC) was approximately 40%. The wet sheet adheredto the Yankee dryer due to an adhesive that is applied to the dryersurface. Spray booms situated underneath the Yankee dryer sprayed eitheran adhesive package, which is a mixture of polyvinylalcohol/KYMENE®/Rezosol 2008M, or an additive composition according tothe present disclosure onto the dryer surface. Rezosol 2008M isavailable from Hercules, Incorporated, located in Wilmington, Del.,U.S.A.

One batch of the typical adhesive package on the continuous handsheetformer (CHF) typically consisted of 25 gallons of water, 5000 mL of a 6%solids polyvinyl alcohol solution, 75 mL of a 12.5% solids KYMENE®solution, and 20 mL of a 7.5% solids Rezosol 2008M solution.

The additive compositions according to the present disclosure varied insolids content from 2.5% to 10%.

The sheet was dried to about 95% consistency as it traveled on theYankee dryer and to the creping blade. The creping blade subsequentlyscraped the tissue sheet and small amounts of dryer coating off theYankee dryer. The creped tissue base sheet was then wound onto a 3″ coreinto soft rolls for converting. Two rolls of the creped tissue were thenrewound and plied together so that both creped sides were on the outsideof the 2-ply structure. Mechanical crimping on the edges of thestructure held the plies together. The plied sheet was then slit on theedges to a standard width of approximately 8.5 inches and folded. Tissuesamples were conditioned and tested.

In particular, the following tests were performed on the samples:

Tensile Strength, Geometric Mean Tensile Strength (GMT), and GeometricMean Tensile Energy Absorbed (GMTEA):

The tensile test that was performed used tissue samples that wereconditioned at 23° C.+/−1° C. and 50%+/−2% relative humidity for aminimum of 4 hours. The 2-ply samples were cut into 3 inch wide stripsin the machine direction (MD) and cross-machine direction (CD) using aprecision sample cutter model JDC 15M-10, available from Thwing-AlbertInstruments, a business having offices located in Philadelphia, Pa.,U.S.A.

The gauge length of the tensile frame was set to four inches. Thetensile frame was an Alliance RT/1 frame run with TestWorks 4 software.The tensile frame and the software are available from MTS SystemsCorporation, a business having offices located in Minneapolis, Minn.,U.S.A.

A 3″ strip was then placed in the jaws of the tensile frame andsubjected to a strain applied at a rate of 25.4 cm per minute until thepoint of sample failure. The stress on the tissue strip is monitored asa function of the strain. The calculated outputs included the peak load(grams-force/3″, measured in grams-force), the peak stretch (%,calculated by dividing the elongation of the sample by the originallength of the sample and multiplying by 100%), the % stretch @ 500grams-force, the tensile energy absorption (TEA) at break(grams-force*cm/cm², calculated by integrating or taking the area underthe stress-strain curve up the point of failure where the load falls to30% of its peak value), and the slope A (kilograms-force, measured asthe slope of the stress-strain curve from 57-150 grams-force).

Each tissue code (minimum of five replicates) was tested in the machinedirection (MD) and cross-machine direction (CD). Geometric means of thetensile strength and tensile energy absorption (TEA) were calculated asthe square root of the product of the machine direction (MD) and thecross-machine direction (CD). This yielded an average value that isindependent of testing direction. The samples that were used are shownbelow.

Elastic Modulus (Maximum Slope) and Geometric Mean Modulus (GMM) asMeasures of Sheet Stiffness:

Elastic Modulus (Maximum Slope) E(kg_(f)) is the elastic modulusdetermined in the dry state and is expressed in units of kilograms offorce. Tappi conditioned samples with a width of 3 inches are placed intensile tester jaws with a gauge length (span between jaws) of 4 inches.The jaws move apart at a crosshead speed of 25.4 cm/min and the slope istaken as the least squares fit of the data between stress values of 57grams of force and 150 grams of force. If the sample is too weak tosustain a stress of at least 200 grams of force without failure, anadditional ply is repeatedly added until the multi-ply sample canwithstand at least 200 grams of force without failure. The geometricmean modulus or geometric mean slope was calculated as the square rootof the product of the machine direction (MD) and the cross direction(CD) elastic moduli (maximum slopes), yielding an average value that isindependent of testing direction.

Wet/Dry Tensile Test (% in the cross machine direction)

The dry tensile test is described in Example 1, with the gauge length(span between jaws) being 2 inches. Wet tensile strength was measured inthe same manner as dry strength except that the samples were wettedprior to testing. Specifically, in order to wet the sample, a 3″×5″ traywas filled with distilled or deionized water at a temperature of 23±2°C. The water is added to the tray to an approximate one cm depth.

A 3M “Scotch-Brite” general purpose scrubbing pad is then cut todimensions of 2.5″×4″. A piece of masking tape approximately 5″ long isplaced along one of the 4″ edges of the pad. The masking tape is used tohold the scrubbing pad.

The scrubbing pad is then placed into the water with the taped endfacing up. The pad remains in the water at all times until testing iscompleted. The sample to be tested is placed on blotter paper thatconforms to TAPPI T205. The scrubbing pad is removed from the water bathand tapped lightly three times on a screen associated with the wettingpan. The scrubbing pad is then gently placed on the sample parallel tothe width of the sample in the approximate center. The scrubbing pad isheld in place for approximately one second. The sample is thenimmediately put into the tensile tester and tested.

To calculate the wet/dry tensile strength ratio, the wet tensilestrength value was divided by the dry tensile strength value.

The additive compositions of the present disclosure that were applied tothe samples and tested in this example are as follows.

In the table below, AFFINITY™ EG8200 plastomer is an alpha-olefininterpolymer comprising an ethylene and octene copolymer that wasobtained from The Dow Chemical Company of Midland, Mich., U.S.A.PRIMACOR™ 5980i copolymer is an ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer alsoobtained from The Dow Chemical Company. The ethylene-acrylic acidcopolymer can serve not only as a thermoplastic polymer but also as adispersing agent. INDUSTRENE® 106 comprises oleic acid, which ismarketed by Chemtura Corporation, Middlebury, Conn. PRIMACOR™ 5980icopolymer contains 20.5% by weight acrylic acid and has a melt flow rateof 13.75 g/10 min at 125° C. and 2.16 kg as measured by ASTM D1238.AFFINITY™ EG8200G plastomer has a density of 0.87 g/cc as measured byASTM D792 and has a melt flow rate of 5 g/10 min at 190° C. and 2.16 kgas measured by ASTM D1238. Sample Polymer Dispersing Agent % No. (wt.ratios in parentheses) Dispersing Agent conc. (wt. %) Solids 1AFFINITY ™ EG8200/PRIMACOR ™ 5980i PRIMACOR ™ 5980i/Industrene ® 10640.0/6.0 2.5 (60/40) 2 AFFINITY ™ EG8200/PRIMACOR ™ 5980i PRIMACOR ™5980i 40.0 2.5 (60/40) 3 AFFINITY ™ EG8200/PRIMACOR ™ 5980i PRIMACOR ™5980i/Industrene ® 106 40.0/6.0 5 (60/40) 4 AFFINITY ™ EG8200/PRIMACOR ™5980i PRIMACOR ™ 5980i 40.0 5 (60/40) 5 AFFINITY ™ EG8200/PRIMACOR ™5980i PRIMACOR ™ 5980i/Industrene ® 106 40.0/6.0 10 (60/40) PolymerParticle Poly- Solids Viscosity Temp Sample No size (um) dispersity (wt.%) pH (cp) (° C.) RPM Spindle 1 1.01 1.57 32.1 10.3 572 21.7 50 RV3 20.71 2.12 40.0 11.3 448 22.1 50 RV3 3 1.01 1.57 32.1 10.3 572 21.7 50RV3 4 0.71 2.12 40.0 11.3 448 22.1 50 RV3 5 1.01 1.57 32.1 10.3 572 21.750 RV3

DOWICIL™ 200 antimicrobial, which is a preservative with the activecomposition of 96% c is1-(3-chloroallyl)-3,5,7-triaza-1-azoniaadamantane chloride (also knownas Quaternium-15) obtained from The Dow Chemical Company, was alsopresent in each of the additive compositions.

As shown above, the percent solids in solution for the differentadditive compositions was varied. Varying the solids content in solutionalso varies the amount of solids incorporated into the base web. Forinstance, at 2.5% solution solids, it is estimated that from about 35kg/MT to about 60 kg/MT solids is incorporated into the tissue web. At5% solution solids, it is estimated that from about 70 kg/MT to about130 kg/MT solids is incorporated into the tissue web. At 10% solutionsolids, it is estimated that from about 140 kg/MT to about 260 kg/MTsolids is incorporated into the tissue web.

The results of this example are illustrated in FIGS. 3-7. As shown inFIG. 3, for instance, the geometric mean tensile strength of the samplesmade according to the present disclosure were greater than thenon-inventive sample treated with the conventional bonding material.Similar results were also obtained for the geometric mean total energyabsorbed.

In addition to testing the properties of the samples, some of thesamples were also photographed. For instance, referring to FIGS. 8, 9,10 and 11, four of the samples are shown at 500 times magnification. Inparticular, FIG. 8 represents a photograph of the non-inventive sample,FIG. 9 is a photograph of Sample No. 1, FIG. 10 is a photograph ofSample No. 3, and FIG. 11 is a photograph of Sample No. 5. As shown, theadditive composition of the present disclosure tends to form adiscontinuous film over the surface of the tissue web. Further, thegreater the solution solids, the greater the amount of film formation.These figures indicate that the additive composition generally remainson the surface of the tissue web.

Referring to FIG. 12, a photograph of the cross section of the samesample illustrated in FIG. 11 is shown. As can be seen in thephotograph, even at 10% solution solids, most of the additivecomposition remains on the surface of the tissue web. In this regard,the additive composition penetrates the web in an amount less than about25% of the thickness of the web, such as less than about 15% of thethickness of the web, such as less than about 5% of the thickness of theweb.

In this manner, it is believed that the additive composition provides asignificant amount of strength to the tissue web. Further, because thefilm is discontinuous, the wicking properties of the web are notsubstantially adversely affected. Of particular advantage, these resultsare obtained without also a substantial increase in stiffness of thetissue web and without a substantial decrease in the perceived softness.

EXAMPLE 2

In this example, tissue webs made according to the present disclosurewere compared to commercially available products. The samples weresubjected to various tests. In particular, the samples were subjected toa “Stick-Slip Parameter Test” which measures the perceived softness ofthe product by measuring the spacial and temporal variation of a dragforce as skin simulant is dragged over the surface of the sample.

More particularly, the following tests were performed in this example.

Stick-Slip Test

Stick-slip occurs when the static coefficient of friction (“COF”) issignificantly higher than the kinetic COF. A sled pulled over a surfaceby a string will not move until the force in the string is high enoughto overcome the static COF times the normal load. However, as soon asthe sled starts to move the static COF gives way to the lower kineticCOF, so the pulling force in the string is unbalanced and the sledaccelerates until the tension in the string is released and the sledstops (sticks). The tension then builds again until it is high enough toovercome the static COF, and so on. The frequency and amplitude of theoscillations depend upon the difference between the static COF and thekinetic COF, but also upon the length and stiffness of the string (astiff, short string will let the force drop down almost immediately whenthe static COF is overcome so that the sled jerks forward only a smalldistance), and upon the speed of travel. Higher speeds tend to reducestick-slip behavior.

Static COF is higher than kinetic COF because two surfaces in contactunder a load tend to creep and comply with each other and increase thecontact area between them. COF is proportional to contact area so moretime in contact gives a higher COF. This helps explain why higher speedsgive less stick-slip: there is less time after each slip event for thesurfaces to comply and for the static COF to rise. For many materialsthe COF decreases with higher speed sliding because of this reduced timefor compliance. However, some materials (typically soft or lubricatedsurfaces) actually show an increase in COF with increasing speed becausethe surfaces in contact tend to flow either plastically orviscoelastically and dissipate energy at a rate proportional to the rateat which they are sheared. Materials which have increasing COF withvelocity do not show stick-slip because it would take more force to makethe sled jerk forward than to continue at a constant slower rate. Suchmaterials also have a static COF equal to their kinetic COF. Therefore,measuring the slope of the COF versus velocity curve is a good means ofpredicting whether a material is likely to show stick-slip: morenegative slopes will stick-slip easily, while more positive slopes willnot stick-slip even at very low velocities of sliding.

According to the Stick-Slip test, the variation in COF with velocity ofsliding is measured using an Alliance RT/1 tensile frame equipped withMTS TestWorks 4 software. A diagram of part of the testing apparatus isshown in FIG. 13. As illustrated, a plate is fixed to the lower part ofthe frame, and a tissue sheet (the sample) is clamped to this plate. Analuminum sled with a 1.5″ by 1.5″ flat surface with a ½″ radius on theleading and trailing edges is attached to the upper (moving part) of theframe by means of a slender fishing line (30 lb, Stren clearmonofilament from Remington Arms Inc, Madison, N.C.) lead though anearly frictionless pulley up to a 50 N load cell. A 50.8 mm wide sheetof collagen film is clamped flat to the underside of the sled by meansof 32 mm binder clips on the front and back of the sled. The total massof the sled, film and clips is 81.1 g. The film is larger than the sledso that it fully covers the contacting surfaces. The collagen film maybe obtained from NATURIN GmbH, Weinhein, Germany, under the designationof COFFI (Collagen Food Film), having a basis weight of 28 gsm. Anothersuitable film may be obtained from Viscofan USA Inc, 50 County Court,Montgomery Ala. 36105. The films are embossed with a small dot pattern.The flatter side of the film (with the dots dimpled down) should befacing down toward the tissue on the sled to maximize contact areabetween the tissue and collagen. The samples and the collagen filmshould be conditioned at 72 F and 50% RH for at least 6 hours prior totesting.

The tensile frame is programmed to drag the sled at a constant velocity(V) for a distance of 1 cm while the drag force is measured at afrequency of 100 hz. The average drag force measured between 0.2 cm and0.9 cm is calculated, and kinetic COF is calculated as: $\begin{matrix}{{COF}_{V} = \frac{f}{81.1}} & (1)\end{matrix}$Where f is the average drag force in grams, and 81.1 g is the mass ofthe sled, clips and film.

For each sample the COF is measured at 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 cm/min. Anew piece of collagen film is used for each sample.

The COF varies logarithmically with velocity, so that the data isdescribed by the expression:COF=a+SSP ln(V)Where a is the best fit COF at 1 cm/min and SSP is the Stick-SlipParameter, showing how the COF varies with velocity. A higher value ofSSP indicates a more lotiony, less prone to stick-slip sheet. SSP ismeasured for four tissue sheet samples for each code and the average isreported.Hercules Size Test (HST)

The “Hercules Size Test” (HST) is a test that generally measures howlong it takes for a liquid to travel through a tissue sheet. Herculessize testing was done in general accordance with TAPPI method T 530PM-89, Size Test for Paper with Ink Resistance. Hercules Size Test datawas collected on a Model HST tester using white and green calibrationtiles and the black disk provided by the manufacturer. A 2% NaptholGreen N dye diluted with distilled water to 1% was used as the dye. Allmaterials are available from Hercules, Inc., Wilmington, Del.

All specimens were conditioned for at least 4 hours at 23+/−1 C and50+/−2% relative humidity prior to testing. The test is sensitive to dyesolution temperature so the dye solution should also be equilibrated tothe controlled condition temperature for a minimum of 4 hours beforetesting.

Six (6) tissue sheets as commercially sold (18 plies for a 3-ply tissueproduct, 12 plies for a two-ply product, 6 plies for a single plyproduct, etc.) form the specimen for testing. Specimens are cut to anapproximate dimension of 2.5×2.5 inches. The instrument is standardizedwith white and green calibration tiles per the manufacturer'sdirections. The specimen (12 plies for a 2-ply tissue product) is placedin the sample holder with the outer surface of the plies facing outward.The specimen is then clamped into the specimen holder. The specimenholder is then positioned in the retaining ring on top of the opticalhousing. Using the black disk, the instrument zero is calibrated. Theblack disk is removed and 10 +/−0.5 milliliters of dye solution isdispensed into the retaining ring and the timer started while placingthe black disk back over the specimen. The test time in seconds (sec.)is recorded from the instrument.

Extraction Method for Determining Additive Content in Tissue

One method for measuring the amount of additive composition in a tissuesample is removal of the additive composition in a suitable solvent. Anysuitable solvent may be selected, provided that it can dissolve at leasta majority of the additive present in the tissue. One suitable solventis Xylene.

To begin, a tissue sample containing the additive composition (3 gramsof tissue minimum per test) was placed in an oven set at 105° C.overnight to remove all water. The dried tissue was then sealed in ametal can with a lid and allowed to cool in a dessicator containingcalcium sulfate dessicant to prevent absorption of water from the air.After allowing the sample to cool for 10 minutes, the weight of thetissue was measured on a balance with an accuracy of ±0.0001 g. and theweight recorded (W₁).

The extraction was performed using a soxhlet extraction apparatus. Thesoxhlet extraction apparatus consisted of a 250 ml glass round bottomflask connected to a soxhlet extraction tube (Corning® no. 3740-M, witha capacity to top of siphon of 85 ml) and an Allihn condenser (Corning®no. 3840-MCO). The condenser was connected to a fresh cold water supply.The round bottom flask was heated from below using an electricallyheated mantle (Glas Col, Terre Haute, Ind. USA) controlled by a variableauto transformer (Superior Electric Co., Bristol, Conn. USA).

To conduct an extraction, the pre-weighed tissue containing the additivecomposition was placed into a 33 mm×80 mm cellulose extraction thimble(Whatman International Ltd, Maidstone, England). The thimble was thenput into the soxhlet extraction tube and the tube connected to the roundbottom flask and the condenser. Inside the round bottom flask was 150 mlof xylene solvent. The heating mantle was energized and water flowthrough the condenser was initiated. The variable auto transformer heatcontrol was adjusted such that the soxhlet tube filled with xylene andcycled back into the round bottom flask every 15 minutes. The extractionwas conducted for a total of 5 hours (approximately 20 cycles of xylenethrough the soxhlet tube). Upon completion the thimble containing thetissue was removed from the soxhlet tube and allowed to dry in a hood.The tissue was then transported to an oven set at 150° C. and dried for1 hour to remove excess xylene solvent. This oven was vented to a hood.The dry tissue was then placed in an oven set at 105° C. overnight. Thenext day the tissue was removed, placed in a metal can with a lid, andallowed to cool in a desiccator containing calcium sulfate desiccant for10 minutes. The dry, cooled extracted tissue weight was then measured ona balance with an accuracy of ±0.0001 g. and the weight recorded (W₂).

The % xylene extractives was calculated using the equation below:% xylene extractives=100×(W ₁ −W ₂)÷W ₁

Because not all of the additive composition may extract in the selectedsolvent, it was necessary to construct a calibration curve to determinethe amount of additive composition in an unknown sample. A calibrationcurve was developed by first applying a known amount of additive to thesurface of a pre-weighed tissue (T₁) using an air brush. The additivecomposition was applied evenly over the tissue and allowed to dry in anoven at 105° C. overnight. The weight of the treated tissue was thenmeasured (T₂) and the weight % of additive was calculated using theequation below:% additive=100×(T ₂ −T ₁)÷T ₁

Treated tissues over a range of additive composition levels from 0% to13% were produced and tested using the soxhlet extraction procedurepreviously described. The linear regression of % xylene extractives (Yvariable) vs. % additive (X variable) was used as the calibration curve.Calibration curve: % xylene extractives=m(% additive)+bor: % additive=(% xylene extractives−b)/mwhere:

-   -   m=slope of linear regression equation    -   b=y-intercept of linear regression equation

After a calibration curve has been established, the additive compositionof a tissue sample can be determined. The xylene extractives content ofa tissue sample was measured using the soxhlet extraction procedurepreviously described. The % additive in the tissue was then calculatedusing the linear regression equation:% additive=(% xylene extractives−b)/mwhere:

-   -   m=slope of linear regression equation    -   b=y-intercept of linear regression equation

A minimum of two measurements were made on each tissue sample and thearithmetic average was reported as the % additive content.

Dispersibility-Slosh Box Measurements

The slosh box used for the dynamic break-up of the samples consists of a14″W×18″D×12″H plastic box constructed from 0.5″ thick Plexiglas with atightly fitting lid. The box rests on a platform, with one end attachedto a hinge and the other end attached to a reciprocating cam. Theamplitude of the rocking motion of the slosh box is ±2″ (4″ range). Thespeed of the sloshing action is variable but was set to a constant speedof 20 revolutions per minute of the cam, or 40 sloshes per minute. Avolume of 2000 mL of either the “tap water” or “soft water” soaksolution was added to the slosh box before testing. The tap watersolution can contain about 112 ppm HCO₃ ⁻, 66 ppm Ca²⁺, 20 ppm Mg²⁺, 65ppm Na⁺, 137 ppm Cl⁻, 100 ppm SO₄ ²⁻ with a total dissolved solids of500 ppm and a calculated water hardness of about 248 ppm equivalentsCaCO₃. The soft water solution, on the other hand, contains about 6.7ppm Ca²⁺, 3.3 ppm Mg²⁺, and 21.5 ppm Cl⁻ with a total dissolved solidsof 31.5 ppm and a calculated water hardness of about 30 ppm equivalentsCaCO₃. A sample was unfolded and placed in the slosh box. The slosh boxwas started and timing was started once the sample was added to the soaksolution. The break-up of the sample in the slosh box was visuallyobserved and the time required for break-up into pieces less than about1″ square in area was recorded. At least three replicates of the sampleswere recorded and averaged to achieve the recorded values. Sample whichdo not break-up into pieces less than about 1″ square in area within 24h in a particular soak solution are considered non-dispersible in thatsoak solution by this test method.

In this example, 14 tissue samples were made and subjected to at leastone of the above tests and compared to various commercially availabletissue products.

The first three samples made according to the present disclosure (SampleNos. 1, 2 and 3 in the table below) were made generally according to theprocess described in Example 1 above.

Tissue web samples 4 through 7, on the other hand, were made generallyaccording to the process illustrated in FIG. 2. In order to adhere thetissue web to a creping surface, which in this embodiment comprised aYankee dryer, additive compositions made according to the presentdisclosure were sprayed onto the dryer prior to contacting the dryerwith the web. Two-ply or three-ply tissue products were produced. Thesamples were then subjected to various standardized tests.

Initially, softwood kraft (NSWK) pulp was dispersed in a pulper for 30minutes at 4% consistency at about 100 degrees F. Then, the NSWK pulpwas transferred to a dump chest and subsequently diluted toapproximately 3% consistency. Then, the NSWK pulp was refined at 4.5hp-days/metric ton. The above softwood fibers were utilized as the innerstrength layer in a 3-layer tissue structure. The NSWK layer contributedapproximately 34% of the final sheet weight.

Two kilograms KYMENE® 6500, available from Hercules, Incorporated,located in Wilmington, Del., U.S.A., per metric ton of wood fiber wasadded to the furnish prior to the headbox.

Aracruz ECF, a eucalyptus hardwood Kraft (EHWK) pulp available fromAracruz, located in Rio de Janeiro, R J, Brazil, was dispersed in apulper for 30 minutes at about 4% consistency at about 100 degreesFahrenheit. The EHWK pulp was then transferred to a dump chest andsubsequently diluted to about 3% consistency. The EHWK pulp fibersrepresent the two outer layers of the 3-layered tissue structure. TheEHWK layers contributed approximately 66% of the final sheet weight.

Two kilograms KYMENE® 6500 per metric ton of wood fiber was added to thefurnish prior to the headbox.

The pulp fibers from the machine chests were pumped to the headbox at aconsistency of about 0.1%. Pulp fibers from each machine chest were sentthrough separate manifolds in the headbox to create a 3-layered tissuestructure. The fibers were deposited onto a felt in a Crescent Former,similar to the process illustrated in FIG. 2.

The wet sheet, about 10-20% consistency, was adhered to a Yankee dryer,traveling at about 2500 fpm, (750 mpm) through a nip via a pressureroll. The consistency of the wet sheet after the pressure roll nip(post-pressure roll consistency or PPRC) was approximately 40%. The wetsheet adhered to the Yankee dryer due to the additive composition thatis applied to the dryer surface. Spray booms situated underneath theYankee dryer sprayed the additive composition, described in the presentdisclosure, onto the dryer surface at an addition level of 100 to 600mg/m².

To prevent the felt from becoming contaminated by the additivecomposition, and to maintain desired sheet properties, a shield waspositioned between the spray boom and the pressure roll.

The sheet was dried to about 95%-98% consistency as it traveled on theYankee dryer and to the creping blade. The creping blade subsequentlyscraped the tissue sheet and a portion of the additive composition offthe Yankee dryer. The creped tissue base sheet was then wound onto acore traveling at about 1970 fpm (600 mpm) into soft rolls forconverting. The resulting tissue base sheet had an air-dried basisweight of 14.2 g/m2. Two or three soft rolls of the creped tissue werethen rewound and plied together so that both creped sides were on theoutside of the 2- or 3-ply structure. Mechanical crimping on the edgesof the structure held the plies together. The plied sheet was then sliton the edges to a standard width of approximately 8.5 inches and folded.Tissue samples were conditioned and tested.

The additive composition that was applied to Samples 4 through 7 andtested is as follows: Polymer Dispersing Agent (wt. ratios inparentheses) Dispersing Agent conc. (wt. %) AFFINITY ™ EG8200/PRIMACOR ™5986 PRIMACOR ™ 5986 40.0 (60/40) Polymer Particle Poly- SolidsViscosity Temp size (um) dispersity (wt. %) pH (cp) (° C.) RPM Spindle0.71 2.12 40.0 11.3 448 22.1 50 RV3

DOWICIL™ 75 antimicrobial, which is a preservative with the activecomposition of 96% c is1-(3-chloroallyl)-3,5,7-triaza-1-azoniaadamantane chloride (also knownas Quaternium-15) obtained from The Dow Chemical Company, was alsopresent in each of the additive compositions.

The percent solids in solution for the different additive compositionswas varied to deliver 100 to 600 mg/m² spray coverage on the YankeeDryer. Varying the solids content in solution also varies the amount ofsolids incorporated into the base web. For instance, at 100 mg/m² spraycoverage on the Yankee Dryer, it is estimated that about 1% additivecomposition solids is incorporated into the tissue web. At 200 mg/m2spray coverage on the Yankee Dryer, it is estimated that about 2%additive composition solids is incorporated into the tissue web. At 400mg/m2 spray coverage on the Yankee Dryer, it is estimated that about 4%additive composition solids is incorporated into the tissue web.

Tissue Sample No. 8, on the other hand, comprised a 2-ply product.Tissue Sample No. 8 was made similar to the process described inExample 1. The tissue web, however, was substantially dry prior to beingattached to the dryer drum using the additive composition.

Prior to testing, all of the samples were conditioned according to TAPPIstandards. In particular, the samples were placed in an atmosphere at50% relative humidity and 72° F. for at least four hours.

The following results were obtained: Basis Additive Weight - BasisComposition xylene Dispersibilitv Sample Identification of # Bone DryWeight Coverage GMT GMT/ HST extraction Slosh Box Stick-Slip No. ControlSamples plies (gsm) (gsm) (mg/m²) (g/3″) Ply (seconds) add-on (%) (min)Result Control 1 PUFF's Plus 2 0 −0.020 (Procter & Gamble) Control 2CELEB Glycerin 2 0 −0.019 Treated Tissue(Nepia) Control 3 KLEENEX Ultra3 39.21 0 880 293 65.8 −0.018 (Kimberly-Clark) Control 4 PUFFS 2 0 672336 −0.018 (Procter & Gamble) Control 5 KLEENEX Lotion 3 0 −0.017(Kimberly-Clark) Control 6 KLEENEX 2 26.53 0 622 311 1.2 −0.012(Kimberly-Clark) Control 7 COTTONELLE Ultra 2 0 1.1 −0.013(Kimberly-Clark) Control 8 ANDREX 2 0 0.1 −0.017 (Kimberly-Clark)Control 9 CHARMIN Ultra 2 0 1.9 −0.018 (Procter & Gamble) Control 10CHARMIN Plus 2 0 −0.018 (Procter & Gamble) Control 11 CHARMIN Giant 1 0−0.021 (Procter & Gamble) 1 2 2804 1.5 23.8 0.058 2 2 701 927 464 6.80.054 3 2 1402 1170 585 13.3 0.070 4 2 27.32 200 792 396 4.1 1.2 0.000 52 26.89 400 775 388 7 4.1 0.016 6 3 39.93 400 1067 356 9.8 3.3 0.018 7 2431 874 437 3.2* 0.023 8 2 28 411 1457 1.2 1.4 0.5 −0.006

As shown above, the samples made according to the present disclosure hadgood water absorbency rates as shown by the Hercules Size Test. Inparticular, samples made according to the present disclosure had an HSTof well below 60 seconds, such as below 30 seconds, such as below 20seconds, such as below 10 seconds. In fact, two of the samples had anHST of less than about 2 seconds.

In addition to being very water absorbent, bath tissue samples madeaccording to the present disclosure even containing the additivecomposition had good dispersibility characteristics. For instance, asshown, the sample tested had a dispersibility of less than about 2minutes, such as less than about 1½ minutes, such as less than about 1minute.

As also shown by the above table, samples made according to the presentdisclosure had superior stick-slip characteristics. As shown, samplesmade according to the present disclosure had a stick-slip of from about−0.007 to about 0.1. More particularly, samples made according to thepresent disclosure had a stick-slip of greater than about −0.006, suchas greater than about 0. All of the comparative examples, on the otherhand, had lower stick-slip numbers.

EXAMPLE 3

Tissue samples made according to the present disclosure were preparedsimilar to the process described in Example No. 2 above. In thisexample, the additive composition was applied to the first sample in arelatively heavy amount and to a second sample in a relatively lightamount. In particular, Sample 1 contained the additive composition in anamount of 23.8% by weight. Sample 1 was made similar to the manner inwhich Sample 1 was produced in Example No. 4 above. Sample 2, on theother hand, contained the additive composition in an amount of about1.2% by weight. Sample 2 was made generally in the same manner as Sample4 was made in Example No. 2 above.

After the samples were prepared, one surface of each sample wasphotographed using a scanning electron microscope.

The first sample containing the additive composition in an amount of23.8% by weight is illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15. As shown, in thissample, the additive composition forms a discontinuous film over thesurface of the product.

FIGS. 16-19, on the other hand, are photographs of the sample containingthe additive composition in an amount of about 1.2% by weight. As shown,at relatively low amounts, the additive composition does not form aninterconnected network. Instead, the additive composition is present onthe surface of the product in discrete and separate areas. Even at therelatively low amounts, however, the tissue product still has a lotionyand soft feel

These and other modifications and variations to the present disclosuremay be practiced by those of ordinary skill in the art, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, which ismore particularly set forth in the appended claims. In addition, itshould be understood that aspects of the various embodiments may beinterchanged either in whole or in part. Furthermore, those of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that the foregoing description is byway of example only, and is not intended to limit the disclosure sofurther described in such appended claims.

1. A process for producing a sheet product comprising: applying anadditive composition to a moving creping surface, wherein said additivecomposition comprising an aqueous dispersion containing a thermoplasticpolymer; pressing a base sheet having an initial basis weight againstthe creping surface after the additive composition has been applied, theadditive composition adhering the base sheet to the creping surface,wherein said base sheet comprising less than 50 percent by weight ofcellulosic materials; and removing the base sheet from the crepingsurface, wherein the additive composition transfers to the base sheetsuch that the basis weight of the base sheet increases by at least about1% by weight.
 2. A process for producing a sheet product comprising:applying an additive composition to a moving creping surface, whereinsaid additive composition comprising an aqueous dispersion containing athermoplastic polymer; pressing a base sheet having an initial basisweight against the creping surface after the additive composition hasbeen applied, the additive composition adhering the base sheet to thecreping surface, wherein said sheet comprising less than 50 percent byweight of cellulosic materials; and removing the base sheet from thecreping surface, wherein the additive composition transfers to the basesheet such that the basis weight of the base sheet increases by at leastabout 1% by weight, and wherein the product has a bulk of less than 3cc/g.
 3. A process for producing a sheet product comprising: applying anadditive composition to a moving creping surface, wherein said additivecomposition comprising an aqueous dispersion containing a thermoplasticpolymer; pressing a base sheet having an initial basis weight againstthe creping surface after the additive composition has been applied, theadditive composition adhering the base sheet to the creping surface, andwherein said sheet being a non-cellulosic material; and removing thebase sheet from the creping surface, wherein the additive compositiontransfers to the base sheet such that the basis weight of the base sheetincreases by at least about 1% by weight.
 4. A process as defined inclaim, 2, wherein the base sheet comprises less than 50% by weight ofcellulosic fibers.
 5. A process as defined in any of the claims 1, 2, or3, wherein the base sheet comprises a wet laid base web.
 6. A process asdefined in claim 1, wherein the base sheet comprises an air formed web.7. A process as defined in any of the claims 1, 2, or 3, wherein thebase web comprises a spunbond web or a meltblown web.
 8. A process asdefined in any of the claims 1 or 2, wherein the base sheet comprises ahydroentangled web, the base sheet containing synthetic fibers andcellulosic fibers.
 9. A process as defined in any of the claims 1 or 2,wherein the base sheet comprise a co-formed web, the web containingsynthetic fibers and cellulosic fibers.
 10. A process as defined in anyof the claims 1, 2, or 3, wherein the base sheet has a consistency offrom about 10% to about 30% when pressed against the creping surface.11. A process as defined in any of the claims 1, 2, or 3, wherein thebase sheet has a consistency of from about 30% to about 70% when pressedagainst the creping surface.
 12. A process as defined in any of theclaims 1, 2, or 3, wherein the base sheet contains moisture in an amountless than about 5% by weight when pressed against the creping surface.13. A process as defined in any of the claims 1, 2, or 3, wherein thecreping surface is heated to a temperature from about 70° C. to about350° C.
 14. A process as defined in any of the claims 1, 2, or 3,wherein the base sheet is on the creping surface for a period of timefrom about 120 milliseconds to about 2,000 milliseconds prior to beingremoved from the creping surface.
 15. A process as defined in any of theclaims 1, 2, or 3, wherein the creping surface comprises a surface of arotating cylinder.
 16. A process as defined in any of the claims 1, 2,or 3, wherein the additive composition further comprises a lotion.
 17. Aprocess as defined in claim 16, wherein the lotion comprises a wax andan oil.
 18. A process as defined in any of the claims 1, 2, or 3,wherein the aqueous dispersion further includes a dispersing agent. 19.A process as defined in any of the claims 1, 2, or 3, wherein thethermoplastic polymer comprises a non-fibrous olefin polymer, anethylene-carboxylic acid copolymer, or mixtures thereof
 20. A process asdefined in claim 19, wherein the non-fibrous olefin polymer comprises analpha-olefin interpolymer of ethylene and at least one comonomerselected from the group consisting of a C₄ to C₂₀ linear, branched orcyclic diene, vinyl acetate, and a compound represented by the formulaH₂C═CHR, wherein R is a C₁ to C₂₀ linear, branched or cyclic alkyl groupor a C₆ to C₂₀ aryl group, or the alpha-olefin polymer comprises acopolymer of propylene with at least one comonomer selected from thegroup consisting of ethylene, a C₄ to C₂₀ linear, branched or cyclicdiene, and a compound represented by the formula H₂C═CHR, wherein R is aC₁ to C₂₀ linear, branched or cyclic alkyl group or a C₆ to C₂₀ arylgroup.
 21. A process as defined in claim 19, wherein the aqueousdispersion comprises a mixture of the non-fibrous olefin polymer and theethylene-carboxylic acid copolymer, and wherein the non-fibrous olefinpolymer comprises an interpolymer of ethylene and an alkene, and whereinthe aqueous dispersion further comprises a carboxylic acid.
 22. Aprocess as defined in claim 20, wherein the additive composition furthercontains a lotion.
 23. A process as defined in claim 19, wherein theadditive composition further comprises a softener.
 24. A process asdefined in claim 19, wherein the additive composition further comprisesa debonder.
 25. A process as defined in claim 19, wherein the additivecomposition further comprise aloe, vitamin E, or mixtures thereof.
 26. Aprocess as defined in any of the claims 1, 2, or 3, wherein the basisweight of the base sheet increases by from about 2% to about 30% byweight.
 27. A process as defined in any of the claims 1, 2, or 3,wherein the basis weight of the base sheet increases by from about 2% toabout 15% by weight.
 28. A sheet product produced via the processaccording to any of the claims 1, 2, or
 3. 29. A process as defined inany of the claims 1, 2, or 3, wherein the basis weight of the base sheetincreases by from about 2% to about 50% by weight.
 30. A process asdefined in any of the claims 1, 2, or 3, wherein the base sheet iscreped from the creping surface.